to MAAC Myles - The Rider News odds of the MAAC preseason poll where they were predicted to finish...

March 8, 2013 theridernews.com

Vol. 83, No. 15

HOUSING HASSLESSophomore gripes about new online housing- selection process. page 11

TRIPLE THREATRider Dances integrates film, music and move-ment into a performance. page 8

FIGHTING FOR A VICTORYThe wrestling team travels to Boston, looking to be crowned CAA champions. page 13

By Dan Perez

LAST fall, nearly half of all Rider students made the Dean’s List, an honor meant to

distinguish those who have gone above and beyond in their academic work.

This percentage has stayed about the same in recent years, according to figures provided by Ron Walker, the associate vice president of Academic Affairs.

To some faculty mem-bers and students, the list isn’t an accurate appraisal of the hardest-working students because the lax requirements have allowed too many names to make the list.

“I think the requirements at Rider should be higher so that those students who are really putting in the extra effort are getting the honor and not just anyone who makes the average,” said Katie Freier, a junior majoring in elementary education.

To be placed on the list, which is published at the end of every semester, a Rider undergraduate student must be enrolled full time and have a 3.25 grade point

average (GPA) with no grade below a C. Freshmen and transfer students are eligible.

At Rutgers University, Monmouth University and The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), an undergraduate student must complete 12 or more credits and have a GPA of a 3.5 or better each semester to make the list, according to the schools’ websites.

“The amount of

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Too easy to make Dean’s List?

➠ SEE DEAN’S LISTPAGE 4

➠

CHECK OUT THE BASKETBALL STORY ONPAGE 16

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By Christina LoBrutto and Corinne Anderson

THE new class schedule grid, about to be applied for its third semester next fall, received mostly positive reviews from about 75 students in an informal survey by The Rider News.

The revised schedule was designed to allow more courses to be taught in 1.5-hour and 3-hour blocks, which accommodate the needs of specialized courses and permit students to have more free time for out-side the classroom experiences, according to associ-ate Dean of Liberal Arts Jonathan Millen.

“I do believe that the new schedule has allowed for more flexibility in student scheduling, making it easier to enroll in internships and conduct research,” Millen said. “Also, many faculty members appreciate the new block structure for unique courses such as labs and film classes.”

Allowing more students to have four-day weeks, the new schedule received a lot of positive feedback from students as they prepare to register for their third semester using it.

Faculty will have a chance to discuss the new grid and provide feedback

New class grid gets good marks from students

➠ SEE SCHEDULEPAGE 5

Junior Anthony Myles and the Broncs have defeated the odds of the MAAC preseason poll where they were predicted to finish seventh out of the 10-team conference. Rider finished the regular season with a 18-13 record and have secured the second seed in the MAAC champion-ship, which takes place today through March 10 in Springfield, Mass. The Broncs have yet to win the MAAC championship but have made the champion-ship game as recently as 2007 when they took on Siena. Rider will take on either St. Peter’s or Fairfield in the second round on March 9 at 7:30 p.m.

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Second-place Broncs take five-game win streak to MAAC

2 The Rider News March 8, 2013

Friday, March 8

Trip to see Oz: The Great and PowerfulBus departs BLC at 7:30 p.m. Students must sign up in the SRC ticket booth.

Saturday, March 9

MAAC basketball in BostonBus departs at 2 p.m. outside Alumni Gym Students must sign up at SRC Ticket booth. Cost is $25. Read about the upcoming championship game on page 16.

Monday, March 11

Course selection beginsTuesday, March 12

An Evening with Hon. Cory Booker7:30 p.m., Mercer Room. Read a preview of Mayor Booker’s visit on page 3.

Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time Green Film Series presentation9 p.m., Sweigart Auditorium

Thursday, March 21

Veteran Career Fair and Military Expo9 a.m, SRC

C O M I N G U P. . .N E W S B R I E F S

RIDERS’ men’s bas-ketball Head Coach Kevin Baggett, right, has been selected

as a finalist for the Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year award. The award is presented to the best first-year Division I head coach. Baggett is a finalist with other notable first-year coaches such as Kevin Ollie of the University of Connecticut and Travis Williams of Tennessee State. Baggett has led the Broncs to an 18-13 overall record and to the second seed in this year’s MAAC champion-ships. Last year, Steve Prohm of Murray State University received the award.

Sneaker swiperA male resident student

arrived at Public Safety to report the theft of six pairs of sneak-ers from Olson Hall on March 3. The student told the officers that sometime between Feb. 27 and March 3, someone entered his secured room and stole the sneakers. There are no current suspects at the time. The total value of the sneakers is $2,300. If anyone has additional informa-tion about this incident, contact Public Safety at x5029.

Solar panel strikeA member of Facilities con-

tacted Public Safety on Feb. 28 to inform officers of damage to the solar panels located behind the baseball and softball fields. The Facilities employee told the officers that he was informed by the Athletics Department that the softball players who hit softballs over the fence had dam-aged the solar panels. Athletics reported that the incident of the damage occurred on Feb. 15. The total value of the damages is unknown.

Under the influenceOn Feb. 26 at 1:24 a.m., Public

Safety received a phone call from a staff member regarding a medical emergency in Omega House. The officers found the ill individual vomiting in the bathroom. Public Safety was able to determine that the student was intoxicated and underage. The officers then contacted the Lawrence Township EMS, which responded and determined that the student did not need to be hospitalized. The matter has been referred to the Office of Community Standards.

Sustainability Studies Minor

11:30 am Tuesday,March 12th

202 North Hall

S E C U R I T Y B R I E F SP R O V I D E D B Y D I R E C T O R O F P U B L I C S A F E T Y V I C K I E W E A V E R

C O R R E C T I O N S

S E E Y O U I N T W O W E E K SIn the Feb. 22 issue, the article “Is Rider Gay-

Friendly?” misidentified the sponsor of the 1994 seminar “Getting to Know Your Students.” It was sponsored by the Writing Across the Curriculum pro-gram, not the English Department.

Also in that issue, the news brief contained a few factual errors. The lawsuit filed by Robert Kenny was filed in the summer of 2012. Kenny is still an adjunct associate professor at Rider and the court found that the department head provided Kenny with the syllabus.

Our next print issue will be on campus newsstands on March 29. The Rider News wishes everyone a great spring break.

P H O T O O F T H E W E E K

STUDENTS interested in learn-ing about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy will have the opportunity

to take two courses next fall. An American Studies course, The Kennedy Assassination, being taught by Dr. James Castagnera, will focus on research on the assassination, especially the information regarding conspiracy theories. A Film and Media course, Special Topics: The JFK Assassination in Film and Media, is being taught by journalism pro-fessor Dr. Thomas Simonet. This class will delve into the film side of the topic in which students will view major motion pictures relat-ing to the assassination.

Interested in working for The Rider News? We’re looking for paid copy editors for next year.

Contact Emily Eiermannat [email protected]

The Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics hosted “An Evening With Hon. Thomas H. Kean Jr.” on March 6. The event was a part of the Institute’s ongoing Governing New Jersey series.

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T H E R I D E R N E W S . C O MBe sure to check out our website for online

exclusive stories and blogs about music, fash-ion, sports, study abroad and freshman year experiences.

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‘Supermayor’ to visit RiderBy Joe Petrizzo

NEWARK Mayor Cory Booker will take the floor on March 12 in “An Evening with Hon. Cory Booker,” hosted by the Rebovich

Institute for New Jersey Politics. Booker was originally scheduled to appear in February, but the event was canceled because of a scheduling conflict, accord-ing to Rebovich Director Ben Dworkin.

Dubbed “Supermayor” by his sup-porters, Booker has grown to national prominence for his personal service to his constituents. During the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, he invited Newark citizens to his house via Twitter so they could charge their cell phones, warm up, eat, use the bathroom and watch DVDs. Time called him a superhero for rescuing a woman from a burning building and saving a dog from freezing to death in the most recent snowstorm. During the Snowpocalypse of 2010, Booker braved the icy roads of danger-ous neighborhoods to deliver blankets

and diapers to destitute families without heat or supplies.

Time has also crowned Booker the “Mayor of Twitter” because he tweets an average of 100 times per day. He’s known for his witty tweets. Once a man from Ireland asked if Booker could fix his city’s pothole problem and the mayor replied, “I’ve got 99 problems & your ditch ain’t one.”

An NJ.com poll revealed that 80% of respondents felt Booker tweeted too much.

“That is just the way things are done nowadays,” Dworkin said.

Booker has been criticized for appearing to be a flashy and popular politician and not doing anything other than sensational things to help the peo-ple of Newark. On March 5, Booker gave his State of the City address, in which he outlined all his accomplish-ments as mayor since taking office in 2006 and all that he hopes to get done before his term ends in 2014. He

started with his tackling of

corruption in Newark.“I led our city in perhaps our

least sexy but most important endeavor of my time as mayor — the hand-to-hand combat of a full-scale management turnaround,” Booker said.

In his speech, Booker said his efforts have led to the indictment of 19 city employees who were stealing taxpayer money. Since productivity of city employees has increased, $15 million has been saved in overtime pay for the police department alone. City departments have seen employee absences decrease dramatically.

Booker also addressed Newark’s crime problem and suggested that Newarkers could help reduce crime by assisting the city’s children.

“You want to fight crime?” Booker asked.“Read to a child. You want to fight crime? Support your local public school. You want to fight crime? Volunteer at an afterschool program because we cannot arrest our way out of this problem.”

“For 2013-14, Newark has over $1.5 billion of additional projects moving forward in the pipeline,” he said.

These projects include the new headquarters tower for Panasonic and a new building for the French pharma-ceutical company Biotrial.

Booker has his eyes on a statewide prize in 2014. Earlier this year, he announced he would run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by 89-year-old Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

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Hon. Cory Booker will be speaking at Rider on March 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Mercer Room in Daly’s.

By Joe Petrizzo

NEW Jersey Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-Union) received a less than cordial welcome from a group of picketing students from The College

of New Jersey (TCNJ) on March 6 in front of Daly’s. Kean, who was at Rider to speak at “An Evening with Hon. Thomas H. Kean Jr.” hosted by the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, was accused by the protestors of unethical practices stemming from the awarding of a no-bid contract to AshBritt, an environmental service company that cleans up debris from natural disasters.

“We’re protesting because Senate Minority Leader Kean has decided that it’s ethical to give no-bid contracts to companies like AshBritt so they can do the cleanup job from Hurricane Sandy without having to put in a proper bid, meaning that whatever price they demand is the price the government is going to give them, and Tom Kean sees this as something that is accept-able,” Chris Staronka, a member of the TCNJ College Democrats, said. “We just want to make it known to people who are going to see the speech what’s going on.”

Staronka said that the no-bid contract hurts New Jersey taxpayers.

“This is a big issue for us because New Jersey has incredibly high taxes, and they only get higher,” he said. “When there’s wasted money, especially unethically when you’re giving out no-bid contracts to companies that are politi-cally friendly, we think that’s an issue. This is just an issue of ethics. We want money to be used appropriately. We don’t want are money to be used for political purposes, and that’s exactly what it’s being used for.”

The protesters said that not only will New Jersey taxpayers foot the bill, but also that Conti, a subsidiary of AshBritt has donated to state Republican Party and Kean, the party leader in the state senate, is guilty by association.

“Conti is the one who has been giving dona-tions to the state Republican party, and this happened, more or less, right after the contracts were delivered,” said one protester.

“I think accountability and transparency are the two things that, especially in New Jersey, the government needs, and we should do our best as students because it will affect us the most in the

future,” said Urvashi Banerjea, another TCNJ protester. “We will hold our leaders accountable for their actions.”

Charles Measley of the Rider University Republicans gave Kean the benefit of the doubt.

“I think he’s done a great job on a number of things and instead of just throwing around allegations, you actually have to look at his filings to see,” Measley said. “Just because someone donated, doesn’t make them a criminal or any-thing like that.”

Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) has called for all state officials to decline contributions from AshBritt and its sub-sidiary companies. Kean had this to say about the protesters and the scandal.

“I think it’s silly for the senate president to act in this way,” he said. “It clearly shows that the senate president is insecure in himself, his own seat or his majority or all three.”

Sweeney has called for all state officials to decline contributions from AshBritt and its sub-sidiary companies.

Rebovich Director Ben Dworkin brushed the protests off saying, “There were a handful of protesters. It’s not the first time it has happened at a Rebovich event. It won’t be the last time. But in the end, I think it was much ado about nothing. The real action was in the room with Senator Kean taking questions from Rider students.”

Additional reporting by Maggie Sarlo.

Members of TCNJ’s College Democrats accuse Kean of unethical practices regarding a no-bid contract to AshBritt, an environmen-tal service company that cleans up debris from natural disasters.

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Visiting TCNJ protesters take aim at Sen. Tom Kean


Newsstudents making the list for the past several semesters is too high,” said Dr.

Gary Brosvic, a psychology professor at Rider. “When a school has more than 40% of all students making the Dean’s List every semester, it just seems like it’s too easy to achieve.”

In the fall of 2011, 43% of all eligible students made the Dean’s List. In the spring of 2012, that fig-ure rose to 46%. Last fall saw 47% of students achieve the award.

Out of the last five semesters, Fall 2010 had the highest number of students on the list — just over 50%. These figures include students from all five schools.

Brosvic suggested that the GPA requirement could be raised to 3.5 to fall in line with other colleges.

Requirements for individual schools at Rider can differ, said Marshall Onofrio, the associate dean for administration of Westminster College of the Arts. “Most of these guidelines and requirements are set by the academic policy committees for each college,” he said.

Rider hasn’t always had the same requirements for the honor, according to Registrar Susan Stefanick.

“Looking back at old Rider course catalogs, I found out that sometime during the 1970s, the policy became what it is today,” she said. “In the 1965-66 catalog the requirements are different. It only states that full-time students must receive all grades of B or above for the semester.”

At Westminster Choir College (WCC), students need a higher GPA to get on the list.

“To make the Dean’s List at WCC, a full-time undergraduate student must have a semester GPA of at least a 3.7,” Onofrio said. “This requirement has been in place for decades. The school has continued to affirm that this standard is appropriate.”

The School of Education has stricter requirements for its students to remain in the school — a reason the Education Department heads feel contributes to the large number of education majors on the Dean’s List.

“To remain in the school, students must maintain a 2.75 GPA,” said Barbara Fruscione, the assistant dean of the school. “When students are seniors they are able to begin their student teaching requirements. They must maintain a 3.0 GPA to student teach.”

During the last five semesters, the School of Education has had the highest percentage of students who made the Dean’s List. About 67% of eligible students made it last semester.

“The higher requirements to stay enrolled in this college might push more students into making the Dean’s List semester after semester,” Fruscione said. “It’s a bit easier to make those high grades for the Dean’s List when your enrollment in the school requires a higher grade point average.”

The school at Rider with the lowest percentage of

students who made the list is the College of Continuing Studies (CCS). Last semester, about 37% of all eligible stu-dents in that school received the award.

The requirements for making the list are differ-ent for CCS. To make the list, a student taking 12 or more credits still must have a 3.25 GPA. However, the CCS allows students taking less than 12 credits to still be eligible for the award, said Stefanick. For CCS students taking between 9-11 credits, their GPA must remain at, or above, a 3.33. For students taking between 6-8 credits, they must have a GPA at or above a 3.5, he added.

April Savoy, a senior majoring in elementary edu-cation, said she has worked hard to make the mark.

“I have made the Dean’s List twice since I’ve been at Rider,” she said. “I list it alongside other accomplish-ments on my résumé.”

Barbara Su, a senior accounting major, said she thinks the achievement was easier to reach during her first years at the university.

“It was really easy to make the Dean’s List when I was a freshman and sophomore,” she said. “I think the majority of students could achieve it during those years. As I moved past the earlier years I had a more difficult workload.”

Making the Dean’s List with a 3.5 GPA isn’t easy, said Evan Kita, a senior at TCNJ.

“I’ve made the list once during my five years at the school,” said Kita. “It requires hard work and people who can keep up with their classes and do well in them should definitely be recognized for that achievement. If students didn’t have to maintain a grade average of an A or above, the award probably wouldn’t be as significant.”

Dr. Danielle Jacobs, an assistant professor of chem-istry at Rider, is in favor of raising Rider’s Dean’s List requirements.

“Compared to other schools in the area, the Rider requirements don’t seem like the right benchmark that students should be aiming for,” she said. “It’s not good enough to say that the requirements are the way they are because it’s been that way for a long time. Stagnancy is lazy.”

Dean’s ListCONT’D FROM P. 1

ATTENTIONRIDER

STUDENTS!

Want to be part of Rider’sCommunity Standards

Board?

Members of the Board listen to fellow students

challenge alleged violations of the University

Code of Social Conduct.

Great networkingopportunity!

Members work with Admission, Faculty and Staff to make impartial decisions about responsibilty and any possible

sanctions.

INTERESTED?

Interested candidates can pick up applications in the

Bart Luedeke Center, Room 116. Completed applications are due back in Room 116 by 5:00 p.m. Friday, March 26,

2013.

Students must have a 2.5 GPA and be available for an

interview.

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Strutting for a causeBy Julia Kirk

FUNDRAISING and awareness combined forces at Circle K’s International Fashion Show in the Bart Luedeke Center on March 2.

The fashion show was organized as a way to raise awareness for the Eliminate Project, which joins forces with other organizations such as UNICEF in the hopes of eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus.

“The most important part is raising awareness,” said junior psychology major Navita Persaud, who helped coordinate the event. “A lot of people don’t know what it’s like for people that can’t get the shot. A baby dies every nine minutes without a tetanus shot.”

Several of Rider’s clubs, such as Rider Serves, the Entrepreneurial club, the Japanese Pop Culture Society, the French club, the senior class council and more, came out to support Circle K, and even participated in the show. Students from nearby schools like Rutgers University, The College of New Jersey, Stockton College and Rowan University walked the runway as well. All of the models walking were required to provide their own unique attire for the show.

The show also had an “Express Yourself ” portion, where each model went on stage wearing a costume

that they believed accurately expressed themselves, and a panel of judges evaluated them. A T-shirt con-test followed shortly afterward, which was won by the French club. Each of the winners received a $15 gift card to Dunkin’ Donuts. Performances were also fea-tured during the show by Tashan’s Bollywood dancers and the band Shadowplay.

The club raised $250 for the cause. Because of this success, the members of Circle K are going to continue to raise money in the future.

“When we first started raising money for neonatal tetanus two years ago, 40 countries needed our help,” said newly elected president, junior secondary educa-tion major Stephanie Morales. “Since then, we’ve brought it down to 36 countries.”

“It was an amazing and life-changing experience to know I’m helping out,” said freshman Circle K mem-ber Amanda Rodriguez, who modeled in the show. “It was also a lot of fun.”

Roughly 60,000 newborn children are killed by neonatal tetanus every year, and Eliminate Project’s main goal is to raise $110 million with the help of UNICEF and other Circle K clubs.

“We’ll be having another fashion show next semes-ter,” Morales said. “We’re going to do whatever we can to spread the word.”


Rider’s 4th year going for the greenBy Lauren Santye

WITH the ongoing environmen-tal concerns for the planet and the go-green movement, Rider is participating in the

RecycleMania competition to promote sustainability.

RecycleMania is an eight-week-long national competition in which colleges and universities across the country participate. The 2013 competition was launched on Feb. 3.

Rider has been competing since 2009 and hopes the eight weeks well encourage students to be more eco-friendly.

Currently, Rider is ranked at 14 of 228 in the Grand Champion category, with a recycling rate of 63.19%.

Although Rider has yet to win the competition and receive a trophy cre-ated from recycled materials, Melissa Greenberg, Rider’s stainability man-ager, says it’s not always about winning.

“For us, it’s not really about the trophy,” Greenberg said. “We just use it for an educational opportunity. We do so many different things all year, so to bring up the focus on Recyclemania for a period of time, I think is really good.”

RecycleMania started in 2001 as a competition between two rival schools, Ohio University and Miami University. As of 2011, there were 630 different universities and colleges involved.

Rider’s Eco-Reps are excited to

continue the tradition of successful sustainability.

“Rider’s goal for Recyclemania is to create more likeminded people in the community,” said Sharlis Thompson, a senior psychology major and Eco-Rep on the Lawrenceville campus. “That way we can continue to have amazing results in the years to come but also set examples for other schools with our sustainable initiatives on campus.”

Within the competition, there are eight different categories that schools can choose to participate in. These include the Grand Champion category, where trash and core recyclable materi-als are combined to get the recycling rate percentage for overall waste; the Per Capita Classic, which looks for the biggest collection of paper, cardboard, bottles and cans on a per-person basis; Waste Minimization, where schools compete to produce the least amount of recycling and trash per person; the Gorilla Prize, which usually goes to larger schools with developed recycling programs and looks for the highest gross tonnage of paper, cardboard, bot-tles and cans and the targeted material programs: Paper, Cardboard, Cans/Bottles and Food Service Organics. The goal is to recycle the largest amount on a per capita basis.

Each week Eco-Reps have an infor-mation table set up in Cranberry’s to help spread awareness. They talk to

people during lunch periods, trying to get them involved. These information tables have a different theme each week like paper, plastic or food waste. During the plastic-themed week, an activ-ity urged students to write down how many things with plastic they come into contact with.

“People are blown away,” Greenberg said. “They can write down like 50 things between 8 a.m. and noon that they have touched that has some sort of plastic. When you raise someone’s awareness, they realize that plastic is everywhere.”

Thompson hopes the Eco-Reps’

presentations will encourage members of the Rider community to make a change in their lives.

“I hope that the people who have visited the tables and learned about various topics will adopt a more sustainable lifestyle and develop eco-friendly habits,” Thompson said.

Thompson adds that she ultimately would like to see many people realize that living greener is an easy thing to do.

“We want people to be able to live the lifestyle they want but in a more sustainable way,” Thompson said.

News

From left, Eco-Reps Katelyn White and Sharlis Thompson play a recycling game with junior Sarah Lopez in Cranberry’s. The recycling competition Recyclemania lasts for eight weeks.

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during an all-faculty forum on March

12 starting at 11:30 a.m. in the Fireside Lounge.

“It made my schedule more uniform throughout the week and freed up my Fridays,” said junior graphic design major Jeff Striks.

Senior English major Katie D’Onofrio agreed.

“It’s made it a lot easier for me to pick later classes and to not have Friday classes,” she said.

While Rider has historically battled the “suitcase school” image, this issue did not seem to concern students.

“Some are eager to enjoy their long weekends on campus,” Striks said, adding, “Some will go home Thursday nights.”

Dr. Jane Rosenbaum, adjunct English professor, however, feels that the new grid encourages long weekends.

“As a consequence of the fewer classes that are being taught on Fridays, more students are apparently choos-ing to leave campus for long weekends elsewhere, as the diminished number of cars in Rider’s lot indicates,” she said. “As a faculty member for the past 35 years, I have witnessed Rider’s transfor-mation from a so-called suitcase college to a university that provides a more complete student experience. The new schedule grid has begun to erode what it took so long to achieve.”

Rosenbaum added that she believes the new grid has affected faculty atten-dance on campus as well.

“Since the new schedule was imple-mented, there are much fewer faculty on campus on Fridays,” she said. “Faculty appear to be consolidating their teaching so that they rarely need to be on campus more than two days a week.”

Officially, there are actually eight more Friday classes offered in spring 2013 than in spring 2012, according to a tally by The Rider News. However, students and professors alike have noticed that there are fewer people on campus on Fridays.

A few different factors might account for this. First, some classes that were scheduled to meet on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:30 -12:30 have been changed by instruc-tors, with consent of all students in these classes, to meet 11:30-1:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays. There were 64 of these 11:30-12:30 classes set for this spring, 7 more than last spring, but it is not known how many made the shift to twice a week.

In addition, there are about 35% fewer Friday afternoon classes this spring than last spring.

In the earlier grid, once-a-week classes were at night.

“Being able to take a three-hour class in the middle of the day makes it easier to essentially tolerate the length of class and be vigilant, because it is not late at night when you tend to be more tired,” said senior psychology major Angela Lupone. “It also opens up the rest of your schedule throughout the week.”

Even with the new three-hour classes during the day, a comparison of the initial spring 2012 course roster and the spring 2013 roster indicates a 56% increase in night classes. Spring 2012 had a total of 138 night classes while spring 2013 jumped to 317 night classes.

The new grid eased an issue with overlapping classes, according to senior communication major JJ Duke. In the past a considerable number of classes met at unofficial times.

“I feel the scheduling grid has been a positive in the sense that there were a lot of classes before the change that

took place at times not mentioned on the schedule, where I even had finals overlap because of the classes,” he said.

One athlete added that the new grid made it easier to juggle class and practice times.

But while most students contacted are praising the revamped grid, oth-ers have had some issues. For junior elementary education and psychology major Erica Hoff, the grid has made for a packed schedule on certain days.

“Mondays and Wednesdays I have class from 10:20 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. with-out a break, so there’s never time for me to eat lunch and just have a break,” she said. “On Thursdays, I am in the field teaching from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., and then have class from 5:10 to 8:30 p.m., so I don’t have much time to eat and rest up.”

Another complaint was registered by students who took one of the five classes offered during the three-hour Friday afternoon time period from 1:10 to 4:10.

Junior secondary education and English major Morgan Taylor said that the time slot took away a lot of

her campus work hours. “As a return-ing study-abroad student, I was hoping to overload this semester, but all my classes overlapped with each other even though they were part of the same major.”

The Friday slots also impact meeting times for tutors in the Student Success Center, according to junior accounting major Shane Conto.

“It has affected the ability of people to get to our Friday tutor trainings,” he said.

Overall, students and faculty seem to approve of the new grid schedule, or at least have no complaints.

“I feel that personally, the grid is up to date,” senior secondary education and history major Chris Werner said. “[It] brings Rider into the equal com-petitiveness of larger universities that use similar grids.”

Contact this writer at [email protected].

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A8:00- 9:00 a.m.

21 48B9:10-10:10 a.m. 66 C

10:20- 11:20 a.m. Wednesday night

6:30-9:30 p.m.

82Number of classes per period in Spring 2013

6499Spring 2013Spring 2012

M T W Th F138 night classes in Spring 2012

40 34 35 29 0 81 80 82 72 2

317 night classes in Spring 2013

Friday afternoons

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THE tables were turned on March 6 when Rider’s School of Education was given a lesson on how

to manage one’s time while juggling a successful career and parenthood as part of the school’s 100-year anniversary.

The event, “The New Normal,” featured a discus-sion with Christine Ebersole and her husband Bill Moloney, who spoke to an audience in the Yvonne Theater about how their work schedules have affected the structure of their family. Ebersole and Moloney have been married for 25 years and are parents to three adopted children from around the world: Elijah, Mae Mae and Aron.

“We wanted to have a fam-ily and tried having children for the first five years of our marriage,” Ebersole said. “Initially my value as a mother was in the ability to have kids, but then I had a moment of clarity and I thought, ‘I want to be a mother, so however that happens I’m going to pursue it.’”

Besides being a wife and mother of three, Ebersole is a two-time Tony Award winner who has starred in Broadway productions such as Grey Gardens and 42nd Street. She also appeared in the films Amadeus and Tootsie, among others, and was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1981-82. Most recently,

she can be seen on the TBS show Sullivan and Son. Moloney is an abstract artist and musician who met Ebersole while working as the musical director for CBS’s show The Cavanaughs.

During the discussion, led by Assistant Superintendent of Ewing Public Schools Dr. Danita Ishibashi, Associate Professor of performing arts Miriam Mills and senior music theater major Caroline Kane, the couple credited its lasting relationship to understanding each other and how hectic work schedules can be. During Ebersole’s Broadway run, she

performed in eight shows a week and saw her children for approximately 20 min-utes a day, on average, while Moloney played the role of stay-at-home dad.

“We are both lifelong artists,” Moloney said. “I understood and appreciated her talent. She couldn’t hide it under a bush; she needed to give away all her gifts and share it with others.”

Ebersole has been in show business since the 1970s, but her insight on how to split time between a career and family is still relevant to students today.

“Not a lot of people in the

business discuss their per-sonal lives,” freshman musical theater major Sarah Catherine Carter said. “Especially some-one so successful.”

Sophomore theater major Ethan Levy felt similarly to Carter.

“What they had to say tonight was really interesting, especially about juggling a family and career,” Levy said. “It’s something that’s on our minds since eventually it’s going to happen.”

Although Ebersole feels bad about the lack of time she spent with her children during her decade-long run

on Broadway, she believes it’s important to live life without remorse.

“You really can’t have any regrets because they don’t change anything,” she said. “I’m grateful to have the job I have. I love it and the people I work with, but it comes at a price. What I do on a daily basis is have a conscious-ness about my life and my relationships.”

Regardless of the profes-sion one ends up in, Ebersole and Moloney offered a bit of advice to make each working day more enjoyable.

“Do what you love the most,” Moloney said. “If everyone can do what excites them most, you’ll find you’re operating to a higher degree.”

Ebersole agreed with her husband and said loving her profession is what got her through even the roughest times.

“Broadway was a lot of hard work, but when you’re out there with an audience, it’s really magical,” she said. “When you’re passionate about what you do, it makes it easier. You need to have pas-sion and take rejection because even that gives you an oppor-tunity to look inward.”

Contact this writer at [email protected]

Managing parenting and performing

THE deliciousness of high-quality Japanese cuisine and the afford-ability of an all-you-can-eat restaurant come together in four

separate New Jersey locations to create a unique and magnificent dining experi-ence at Sushi Palace.

Sushi Palace has an expansive selec-tion of appetizers, entrees, specials and, of course, sushi. While there is the option of ordering a la carte, the beauty of the restaurant is its all-you-can-eat menu.

The servers bring two sheets of paper to the table, one for starters and desserts and the other stocked with sushi and sashimi choices. Customers can order however much or little as they desire. The only catch is that you must finish what you order, since the staff does not want to have food wasted and you will be charged an additional fee if food is left on the plate.

Customers can order unlimited rounds of food with all of the sushi arriving on one massive plate to be shared and enjoyed family-style, after which the table is supplied with more sheets of paper with which to order.

There is a wide and colorful variety of sushi, including certain rolls with-out raw fish, such as the sweet potato or vegetable tempura roll. There is

also more traditional fare, such as the California roll, shrimp tempura roll, spicy crab and the Pink Lady, which is composed of crabmeat, avocado, spicy tempura flakes and spiced salmon.

There are other options on the all-you-can-eat menu for less adventurous customers who might not enjoy sushi, such as soups, salads, dumplings, tem-pura, teriyaki, ice cream and fresh fruit.

Sushi Palace has a pleasant, ener-getic ambience. During prime meal times, it is typically a busy establish-ment with a constant buzz of conver-sation but enough space between the individual tables to keep the noise from being distracting.

The restaurant has the added benefit of having a bring-your-own-booze policy for patrons, which saves money and contributes to the classy and casual atmosphere. The staff is willing to warm up sake if so desired and supply customers with glasses.

Servers are diligent about refilling water glasses and clearing plates, but the more orders you submit, the slower they are likely to become and more reluctant to ask if you would like more food.

Sushi Palace is the perfect place for a large group of friends or family. The atmosphere and variety of high-quality cuisine makes it a restaurant worth

visiting, be it for the delectable sushi or the litany of other choices.

During the week, the all-you-can-eat option costs $19.95 per person and on weekends it is $21.95, while for children under 10 it is only $10.95.

There are four locations in New

Jersey: Princeton, Edison, Somerville and Red Bank/Middletown.


Features

By Nicole Veenstra

Scrumptious sushi that won’t break the bankBy Megan Pendagast

The all-you-can-eat menu at Sushi Palace offers a litany of options, including the sweet potato roll, the California roll, peanut avocado and shrimp tempura, among others.

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Christine Ebersole and her husband, Bill Moloney, discuss how they split their time between parenting and work.

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Restaurant Review


Features

The Veteran Career Fair and Military Expo is for all veterans and their families seeking information regarding career paths, employment

opportunities and support organizations. Rider University will partner with veteran-friendly organizations to identify job

opportunities, trade programs, and VA support programs.

March 21, 2013 9 am – 1 pm

Veteran job seekers, active duty military, Members of the National Guard and reserve components, and military dependents.

11 am – 1 pmOpen to the Public

This event is FREE for employers and job seekers!

Veteran Career Fair and Military expo

Have Questions?For further information, contact Jo Anna ChapinCollege of Continuing Studies at Rider University

[email protected]

To register or for more information go to

rider.edu/veterancareerfair

Over 60 employers registered so far. Just a few include:

More Added Everyday!

The Veteran Career Fair and Military Expo is for all veterans and theirfamilies seeking information regarding career paths, employment

opportunities and support organizations. Rider Universitywill partner with veteran friendly organizations to identify job

opportunities, trade programs and VA support programs.

March 21, 20139 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Veteran job seekers, activeduty military, members of the NationalGuard and reserve components, and military dependents.

11 a.m. – 1 p.m.Open to the public





March 21, 2013 9 am – 1 pm






[email protected]








March 21, 2013 9 am – 1 pm






[email protected]





RIDER’S dance majors and minors will be twirling through the Bart Luedeke Center (BLC) on March 9 at 7:30 p.m. and March 10 at 2

p.m. to present Rider Dances with Laney Engelhard.

Integrating film, music and move-ment, these performances will showcase the power of the body and the senses through Engelhard’s innovative choreog-raphy, as well as works by other chore-ographers, such as Assistant Director of Admissions Cherilyn Barbone, Angela

Cusumano and Dance Program Director Kim Chandler Vaccaro.

The program will contain a mix of dance genres, ranging from tap to hip-hop to contemporary and will exemplify the creativity and skill the dancers pos-sess from rehearsal to performance.

“The underlying theme of this year’s performance is the mind and body dualism that continues to pervade our culture,” said Vaccaro, who also cho-reographed some of the pieces for the show. “This concert considers Bloom’s Taxonomy, which puts creativity at the

Music and movement make Rider Dances a must-see

March 8, 2013 The Rider News8

Arts&Entertainment

Career_Services_Ad__101912_Layout 1 10/15/12 5:57 PM Page 1

SPRING CaReeR FaIRThursday, March 28, 2013 • 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Monday, March 25 • Tuesday, March 26Wednesday, March 27

9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Resume Blitz . . .Get Ready for the Spring Career Fair

By Tara DeLorenzo

Combining body movement with musical instruments, a group of Rider dance majors and minors come together to perform, led by esteemed choreographer Laney Engelhard.

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top of critical thinking skills, how the brain works and what various parts of the brain do, and the communicative and therapeutic powers of dance and what all that means to the nature of intelligence.”

The show is meant to help redefine dance as more than just choreography by depicting it as metaphor, imagery, rhythm and “semiotics and culturally encoded symbolism,” Vaccaro said.

Engelhard’s choreography makes for a much-anticipated event, according to sophomore dance major Jacquelyn Oathout. She said it will give audiences “a lot to think about because each piece is so different and the movement says a lot.”

Senior arts administration major Caroline Asuncion agreed via email, saying, “The audience will definitely feel a mixture of emotions. Some dances are fun and crazy while others have some powerful themes. I think they are really going to love each individual piece they see from start to finish.”

For the past seven years, Engelhard has created work with an “industrious nature and creative vision” with Rider dancers, Vaccaro said.

Engelhard has also danced with the Oregon Ballet Theatre and worked as a guest artist with countless companies and productions, such as Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular and Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance in Asheville, N.C. As a choreographer, she has designed many performances for schools in the New Jersey area, including ensembles such

as the American Repertory Ballet and Princeton’s Body Hype ensemble.

According to Asuncion, Rider’s danc-ers are eager to dance in the upcoming show and share their hard work with the audience.

“My experience in the studio has been a memorable one,” Asuncion said. “We all really connect to each other now as dancers and friends, and I wouldn’t want to dance with anyone else. For the past two years I’ve been on tech crew behind the scenes. Now it’s my senior year, and I want to go out with a bang by perform-ing with my friends.”

Junior dance major Alison Giampolo shared the same enthusiasm.

“I am really excited about the upcom-ing Rider Dances performances,” she said via email. “The dancers and chore-ographers have put in a lot of time and energy throughout the semester and I’m glad we will finally be able to showcase what we’ve worked so hard on.”

Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students and families participating in Admitted Students Day.

Reserve tickets by calling 609-896-7775 or by visiting rider.edu/arts. Tickets will also be available at the door. In an effort to “go green,” the advanced tickets may not be printed, and the program for the performances will be found only in electronic format on the Rider website.

Music and movement make Rider Dances a must-see


Arts&Entertainment

GREEN FILM SERIESpresentation

On Tuesday, March 12 &

Wednesday, March 13At 7:00 P.M.

In Sweigart 115

Moderator: Stanley TempleBrief discussion following the film. Learn about Aldo Leopold and his connection

to Rider!

“I will be spending part of my spring break in Puerto Rico at the Middle States review for the University of Puerto Rico.”

– Dean of Students Anthony Campbell

Spring break plans for Rider’s faculty and students

“We actually only get off the Friday of spring break but I will be taking vacation that week because my son is getting mar-ried on March 22.”

– Dean of Freshmen Ira Mayo

“I will be participating in our inaugu-ral Veteran Career Fair on March 21. My wife and I also plan to travel to Canada to visit my son and three grandsons.”

– President Mordechai Rozanski

“It’s my birthday March 16, so I’m so excited to celebrate with my family. Then I will be off to Mexico with my boyfriend and friends for some much-needed sun.”

– Lorelei Colbert, junior public relations major

“I plan to catch up on some home-work, maybe take a trip to Albany, N.Y., and a couple trips to the city.”

– David Harrison, sophomore accounting and finance major

“My roommates and I are taking a road trip to Boca Raton, Fla., and stop-ping at West Palm Beach on the way.”

– Kristin Lopez, senior entrepreneurial studies and management and leadership double major

“I’m going down to Orlando to visit a friend who used to live in the area. I’m going with two other Rider students and we are excited for some warm weather.”

– Becky McColgan, sophomore sociology major

“I’m just going home and going to New York for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.”

– Marcella Scalise, junior secondary education and history double major

“A few friends and I planned a road trip, but it’ll also be the start of my spring season for track so training is a priority.”

– Lauryn Strebeck, junior elementary education and psychology double major

“I’m going to my second home: Swansea, Wales. I fell in love with it when I studied abroad so I can’t wait to go back.”– Leandra del Pozo, junior public relations major

“I plan on watching television shows and reading books that I don’t get to watch and read because of schoolwork.”– Jaclyn Jacobs, sophomore elementary education

and psychology double major

SEE MORE PHOTOS OF RIDER DANCES WITH LANEY ENGELHARD ON THERIDERNEWS.COM Elizabeth Tkaczynski focuses and elongates her frame while performing with Rider Dances.

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Ridge House, 2083 Lawrenceville Road Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 P 609 896 5256 F 609 895 5696 General Meetings: Sundays at 9 p.m.

Executive EditorEmily Eiermann

Managing EditorRachel Stengel

News EditorsKatie Zeck Jen Maldonado

Features and Arts & Entertainment Editors

Nicole Veenstra Megan Pendagast

Opinion EditorKristy Grinere

Assistant Opinion EditorDanielle Gittleman

Sports Editors David Pavlak Cristiana Votta

Photography EditorMaggie Sarlo

Copy Editors Joe Petrizzo April Lanzet

Online Editor Christina LoBrutto

Design ManagerKatie Hambor

Advertising Manager Rebecca CawleyDelivery Manager

Joe Guerin

Faculty advisersDr. Thomas SimonetDr. E. Graham McKinley

The Rider News serves as a public forum for student expression and welcomes letters to the edi-tor from all members of the university community. Letters must include the writer’s telephone number and e-mail address for verification. Letters that constitute personal attacks on individu-als or groups are unacceptable. We reserve the right to edit letters to the editor for length, clarity, accuracy, grammar and libel. Letters must be appropriate in terms of taste and civility. Brevity is encouraged. All decisions are at the sole discretion of the editorial board, which may reject any letter. Send to The Rider News via e-mail ([email protected]), campus mail, or hand deliver to Ridge House. All letters must be received by midnight on the Monday preceding publication.

Editorial

New schedule changes cause class gridlockAS college students, it’s safe

to say that we all experience immense amounts of stress multiple times a year. These

hassles just get worse toward the end; not only do we have the worry of exams and projects, but also hous-ing selection and more importantly, class selection, which only adds to the stress that is threatening to bubble over and explode inside of us.

The implementation of the new class selection grid has made things much easier for some, but created problems and more struggles for many others. This new schedule grid was made to have different time slots available for classes that were never featured in previous years.

The new time slots were created to help accommodate students so that they could schedule their classes around work, sports, internships and other extracurricular activities.

According to an anonymous sur-vey, a junior education major doesn’t see anything wrong with the new class grid. He or she believes that the grid is something that everyone has to get used to again. A sophomore public relations major found that the new grid gives students more time to get work done.

Despite the positive feedback from some students, others don’t see the need for change. Last semester, Rider made the changes to the class grid; the original grid went from looking very simple to extremely complex. Multiple classes were added to the grid, including some that were at strange times and have various lengths, such as a night class from 7:20 to 10 p.m.

Even though the new grid allows for more classes to be held at times that were never available before, it still causes problems for some stu-dents. Certain periods overlap and make it difficult for some students to register for classes they need since they are at the same times.

In the same anonymous poll, a junior public relations major expressed that, “The grid compli-cates things way too much when it comes to scheduling other activities like work.” It seems to be too com-plex and inconsistent, which makes the process more of a headache.

There’s the age-old saying, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” In the case of the new schedule grid here at Rider, some students agree that it didn’t need fixing. The stressful process of picking classes was made even more time-consuming because of these changes, which leaves the students asking why they were made in the first place. On the other hand, some believe that the change was just what the school needed. As a result, these alterations left some students nodding their head in approval, and others still scratching their heads.

Opinion

facebook.com/theridernews@theridernews@theridernews

The weekly editorial expresses the major-ity opinion of The Rider News. This

week’s editorial was written by the Assistant Opinion Editor Danielle Gittleman

LET me preface this article by saying I mean absolutely no harm to any of the Daly’s staff members or anyone else currently employed by

Rider. I have already written about some

of the newer additions to Rider last semester, so I like to think of this as a continuation of that idea. Last spring, Rider made a pretty big deal about renovations that were to be made Daly’s. I, of course, was excited; who doesn’t like new things, particularly new places where I can eat food? And

so, I left Rider with the assurance that come next fall, I’d be able skip classes and eat to my heart’s content in a more comfortable, more awesome cafeteria lounge.

Of course, like most things in my life, I am of mixed opinions on the new dining hall. Granted, there are quite a few things to like about the new Daly’s. For one, the cafeteria’s extension gives me more of an opportunity to beat the lunch rush and sit all the way in the back while munching on pizza, cup-cakes, ice

Senior Point of View

Daly’s serves up dining difficulties

➠ SEE DINING PAGE 11

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Editorial

Dean’s List: an honor?ALL throughout our careers as

students, we strive to reach certain scholarly goals and achievements. One honor

that holds a stigma of prestige and is something that many students aim to obtain is a spot on the Dean’s List, yet compared to other schools it seems much easier to come by for Rider students.

To be on the Dean’s List at Rider, students must achieve a 3.25 grade point average (GPA) and be con-sidered a full-time student. Though this may seem fair, other New Jersey college students, such as those at Rutgers University, must have a 3.5 GPA in order to make the list.

According to Associate Vice President of Rider, Ron Walker, in the spring of 2012, 46% of students made the list. Since almost half of the students made the cut, the distinguishing features of the Dean’s

List seems to fade away and to some starts to become lack-luster.

An individual’s education is something that is held near and dear to most students. The achievements reflect the hard work and effort they have put into their academics. In order to uphold a feeling of accom-plishment and truly honor those who deserve it at Rider, we should raise the university’s standards.

The weekly editorial expresses the major-ity opinion of The Rider News. This week’s editorial was written by Opinion

Editor Kristy Grinere


If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleas-ant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”

Anne BrAdstreet17th century poet

Opinion

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COLLEGE is what you make of it. If you want to sit in your dorm room all day and not socialize, then that’s your choice. However, if you

choose to go out and meet new people, then your experiences in college will be very different. After you graduate, those decisions will dictate how you view your college years.

I am trying to make the most of my college experience since I transferred this semester from Gloucester County College (GCC). Being away from home and meeting new people is exciting; one of the best things is that my roommate transferred this semester from Raritan Valley Community College. It’s nice to live with someone who can relate to my new situation.

I was one of the 82 transfer stu-dents this semester at Rider, compared to the 231 that enrolled this past fall. According to Enrollment Manager Jamie O’Hara, Rider expects between 235-250 new transfer students to enroll in fall 2013. Over the past two years, schools such as Middlesex County College, Mercer County College and Bucks County Community College have had the largest percentage of increases in transfers to Rider.

During my senior year of high school, Rider was not on my radar. My top choice was Monmouth University. Then one day my parents broke the news to me that I had to go to GCC for two years. I had received the New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship, which would

pay for about half of my tuition at GCC. However, I didn’t care because I didn’t want to wait two years to go to Monmouth, and it didn’t help that people called GCC the “13th grade.”

When I registered for the fall 2011 semester at GCC, I was told that I was a semester ahead, since I took six advanced placement courses in high school. They also told me that I would graduate in December 2012. It was the best news that I had heard in a while.

My experiences at GCC were sur-prisingly great. I became a member of the school’s honor society, Phi Theta Kappa and Connections Unlimited. My courses were challenging, and I had great professors. It wasn’t the 13th grade at all.

My communication professor, Dr. Sylvia Baer, told me that I had more control over my future than I thought. She told me to research different schools and to visit them and took the time to help me sort out my hopes and fears of transferring somewhere new. Eventually, my search led me to Rider. I loved that it was a small school and that it also had an outstanding Communication Department. When I told her this she laughed because her husband, Dr. John Baer, is an education professor at Rider.

Everything always works itself out. We all just have to relax and make the most of it. We’re only in college once, so we need to enjoy it.

-Jessica VentoJunior public relations major

Junior Experience

Transfer’s journey leads to Rider

cream and a variety of things that will probably affect me once I’m 25. I even like how most of the food is organized,

with each station containing things like pasta, salads and vegetar-ian foods; at least now when I’m waiting in all of those lines, I’ll have a good idea of what I’m waiting for, except for the pasta line — that thing stretches down into eternity.

Yet there are a couple of bumps with the new look, like how some of the tables are positioned. There are a couple of reasons why I often sit at the tables near the side of the cafeteria to eat my food: They’re safe, easy to get through and I’m socially awkward around other people. But when I absolutely have to sit near the front is when I run into some trouble. Going through any of the tables is like moving through some twisty, uncomfortable maze that acts as a metaphor for how awful your life has become. It gets even worse when you’re actually carrying food, and it literally becomes a matter of life and going back to your dorm room with New England chowder on your shirt. Eating food shouldn’t be so mentally exhausting.

And the food is a mixed bag as well. I’m not too choosy over what I eat since I mostly view food as sustenance before I go back to the daily grind and continue to ignore my work, but I’m con-vinced that there was more variety among the ruinous wreck that was “old Daly’s.” Perhaps my mind is playing games with me, or I simply have forgotten everything that I’ve done in my previous semesters, but it feels like I’m eating mostly the same things over and over again.

So, final thought on the new Daly’s: It’s all right. I know I’m a fairly apathetic person to begin with so maybe my opinion won’t mean much, but aside from a few hiccups, it’s aesthetically pleas-ing, and I can still gorge on free food.

-Chris ExantusSenior journalism major

DiningCONT’D FROM P. 10

THE brand-new online housing portal was opened on MyRider for students on March 1, which left some upperclassmen worried

about the new paperless process. As a first for Rider, instead of filling out a written application to bring to the Student Recreation Center (SRC) for room selection, students were informed that everything must be completed and selected online.

Since the new housing process started just in time for the scheduling of fall 2013 classes, I feel especially stressed. While waiting for the course roster to be posted and advising meet-ings to take place, I find it difficult to learn something completely brand new. My first housing experience at Rider was just last year, so I barely had time to get used to the old process before the new one started to take place.

Midterms are taking up a lot of my time as well. Along with every other student, I am busy studying and writing mid-semester papers. We do not want to have to worry about something that should be so easy.

I am extremely excited to have time to myself for the week of spring break,

but it will be a bit stressful knowing that housing starts the day after break ends. It seems as if there is just not enough time to adjust to something so new.

In order to test the success of the new process, the fall 2012 freshman class was used as a guinea pig. Each new student was to apply online over the summer by filling out a survey of his or her likes and dislikes. Then, a residence hall, room and roommate were chosen for them.

The freshmen are now experts with the new form of housing; however, the upperclassmen are not so fortunate. In past years, students would wait in the SRC for long hours until his or her lottery number was called. Although it was a long and boring process, it was relatively easy and most people were used to it.

Although I am only a sophomore, I find this new process to be pretty con-fusing. I liked the fact that applications for premium housing were handed in well before housing selection, so stu-dents had time to make new arrange-ments if denied. This year, premium housing group formation starts just a few days before

Sophomore Sentiments

Housing system causes headaches

➠ SEE HOUSINGPAGE 12


Opinion

selection. I am worried that I may not get the premium housing that I apply for as a future junior.

The process seems rushed, and I can definitely see several of my fellow peers feeling frantic when selection begins. Despite this, I do feel much better knowing that Rider is doing its best to make the process as easy as possible. Several information sessions have been scheduled in academic and residence

halls for the next few weeks. Resident advisors and staff members are doing their best to break down online housing step-by-step in order to ensure the best experience possible.

It is encouraging that Rider is improving and trying its best to make changes for the better. It may seem confusing to many of us now, but in the future, the housing process will be much easier and worry-free.

-Erin WallaceSophomore English major

HousingCONT’D FROM P. 11

HEY, Rider, listen up. If you tuned into 107.7 The Bronc radio station anytime last week, then you most likely heard a green

tip regarding going paperless in the classroom.

In case you missed it, it was, “As the improvements in technology whiz by, why not jump on board? With tablets, smartphones and laptops being as prevalent as they are, why not make an impact by going green in the class-room? Taking notes and submitting assignments electronically can make a huge impact on our sustainability here at Rider University.”

I was in my Monday 8 a.m. class when I noticed a classmate taking notes using her iPad with a stylus. One might think that using electronics in the classroom would only distract from lectures and lessons; however, if you already own an iPad or a similar tablet, you can easily start to go paperless in the classroom. After downloading an application specifically geared toward note taking, I quickly made the switch to eco-friendly activity in the classroom. Obviously in-class rules vary from one professor to the next. Luckily, my teach-ers allow me to use my iPad to jot down notes daily.

After surveying fellow iPad users, I was led to download and use the note-taking app, Notability. The app

is extremely user-friendly and allows me to choose my paper from options like lined, blank or colored, and choose to handwrite, type, highlight or audio record my lectures.

One benefit is that I will never run out of paper or room to write. My notes are organized first by class and then by topic. It is extremely convenient to have all my notes from my classes and extracurricular activities in one place. Notability also provides a feature for importing articles and PDFs directly into your notes. Once imported, you can take notes and highlight directly on any PDF. If you ever need to share your notes, they can be emailed from the app and shared.

The goal of paperless classrooms is to reduce the number of notebooks, photocopies and wasted scrap paper that we encounter each day. After print-ing, photocopying or drafting notes and assignments, always recycle your papers when finished. If every student at Rider reduced his or her paper use, the university’s carbon footprint would be greatly reduced. Keep your eyes and ears open for simple ways that you can make a difference in your school. Live green, love green and think green.

-Mark Laseter

Westminster Eco-Rep

I’M very surprised at the amount of coverage about marijuana usage in the past few issues. Obviously it’s a very controversial social issue, but the coverage has been so incredibly one-sided it’s almost laughable. The “drugs are bad” approach works on middle school-aged students in D.A.R.E. but not on college students who are more

than capable of making their own decisions. In your latest editorial, I was put-off by an extremely opinionated statement that

it is “beneficial to the overall campus well-being” that Public Safety and Lawrence Township Police Department crack down on marijuana possession and use. If by “beneficial” you mean kicking college students off-campus for consumption of a plant — then yes, it is beneficial. They could accidentally overdose and die. Oh wait, that doesn’t happen with marijuana, but it does with alcohol.

It’s actually pathetic that you would write something like that while underage alcohol consumption runs rampant as ever, but marijuana consumption is viewed as the devil in disguise. I understand you have to reflect the school’s view on subjects, but enough is enough.

I also couldn’t help but notice that there’s been a marijuana write-up in each of the last three Security Briefs. Keep pushing those scare tactics; it’s really going to make people stop.

-Stephen WaltersJunior radio and TV major

Letter to the Editor

Student blows smoke over pot

Green Corner

Taking notes on going green

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SportsWrestling

Broncs wrestle for glory, redemptionBy Cristiana Votta

THE good athletes are separated from the great victors as the Broncs head to the CAA Championship in Boston on March 9 in hopes of heading home with an extension of their season.

The CAA Championship is different from any other collegiate sports conference final. Each weight class has seven athletes, one from each of the CAA’s wrestling programs. Seeding is essential because athletes are randomly placed if they are not in the top four. The Broncs anticipate having many of their wrestlers seeded in the top four. The bracket is in a line format so if the first match is won, the wrestler will be sent to the semi-finals and so on.

Through a long-fought season of battles, the Broncs (10-8, 3-3 CAA) have learned from previous matches, and continue to grow as a unit and look to reign as the new CAA champions.

“We learned that we have to work a lot harder in this last stretch of the season leading up to the confer-ence tournament,” 197-pound sophomore Donald McNeil said. “We have also learned that we have to sharpen our skills and make sure we are on point for the conference tournament.”

In a preseason poll held by CAA wrestling, Hofstra (6-15, 4-2 CAA) was ranked mostly likely to win while Rider trailed as the fourth-ranked team. The Broncs also fell in a close 15-17 match to Hofstra on Jan. 16. Hofstra poses the biggest threat as it has won 11 out of the last 12 CAA Championships and is closely fol-lowed by highly seeded Binghamton, which won the championship in 2010 and placed second in 2011-12. Rider hasn’t won the CAA Championship in more than 20 years but came in second place in 2004-05.

Each of the teams that Rider could possibly face poses a threat but the team has learned through adversity during the season and feels confident that it is capable of ending on top.

“I would say I have a gut feeling that, individually and as a team, we will walk away with a CAA title,”

149-pound senior Zac Cibula said. “This is because I know what the team and I have put into this season and the way we are capable of performing.”

With the weekend fast approaching, the team takes strides toward preparation and changes up its typical routine while consistently putting in hard work.

“Practices are tough, but shorter,” McNeil said. “We are focused on sharpening our technique and making sure it is as close to perfect as possible. To win the CAA Championship, it’s important to go into the tournament with our bodies feeling fresh and our technique sharp.”

The Broncs have realized the emphasis on getting ahead against tight competition. At this level of play, each athlete needs to be on top of his game in order to come out on top.

“We need to learn to win the close matches,” Cibula said. “There are a lot of good kids at this level

so it is going to come down to the person who is will-ing to put it on the line and figure out a way to win the tight matches.”

Cibula felt that beyond hard work and skill, the team has come together a great amount and the new wrestlers have adapted to the life of a Division I athlete.

“We have a young team, so I think guys are starting to learn the amount of sacrifice and commitment it takes to compete at the Division I level,” Cibula said.

If the team approaches the weekend in full poten-tial, Cibula feels it will have no problem competing with some top-name schools.

“I know our team is capable of winning a CAA title,” he said. “Everybody will need to show up indi-vidually for our team to make a run at the title.”


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First Offense Drug Violation

Possession, use, or knowingly being in the presence of marijuana may result in: possible

dismissal from the university, loss of

housing, disciplinary probation, max fine of $200, counseling,

criminal charges

AND EXPLAINING IT ALL TO YOUR

PARENTS

Rider 165-pound freshman Ramon Santiago is ranked No. 1 in his weight class in the CAA heading into this weekend’s championship.


By Tom Albano

WHILE the weather may speak to the contrary, spring is arriving and the tennis teams are preparing for the start of the season on March 10 against St. Francis (Pa.).

The men (2-8, 0-4 MAAC) and women (1-10, 0-6 MAAC) are coming off of a disappointing start in the fall.

“The teams’ performances in the fall could have been better,” Head Coach Ed Torres said. “We have to learn to win the close matches. This is done by hard work and experience.”

Junior Kim Leder spoke of how far her team has come and the challenges they’ve faced.

“From last fall, our team has taken away the fact that we’re a strong team that doesn’t give up easily,” Leder said. “We fight in our matches until the match is over. We play a lot of high-end schools whose teams are comprised of women who have been playing lon-ger than we have and from upperclass tennis associa-tions. It’s a challenge that we accepted when we came

to be a part of Rider’s tennis team.”Leder also said the teams have been dealing with

some injuries.“Unfortunately, our team has had quite a few

injuries that have affected the way we play and our lineup,” Leder said. “We need to focus on building our strength back up and being healthy for this season and others to come.”

Despite the records, the morale of the teams remains high. The Broncs are concentrating on never giving up and playing strong until the final point.

“I have studied that confidence is key in all of our matches,” senior Jaclyn Giameo said. “We play a lot of schools that are better than us, but with confidence, we will be fine.”

Torres is also focused on making sure that the team stays hopeful.

“I am trying to instill a positive attitude going into the spring season,” Torres said. “You must believe in yourself and your teammates and help each other improve. I always tell the players to play their best,

maintain good sportsmanship and enjoy themselves. They seem to take my advice.”

The teams have been working on various areas of play during practices such as their “constancy and on cooperating together for doubles,” according to senior Mike Gershon.

“The team works on improving our serves and our service percentage and how to make better use of the abilities we have to put our opponents under more pressure,” Gershon said.

Heading into the spring season, the Broncs look to grow off of past losses and focus on improving their game through training and hard work, starting with this Sunday’s match with St. Francis (Pa.).

“Being good at tennis comes from the amount of work you put into your practice, mostly on your own time away from the team,” sophomore Stephen Brand said. “So any freshman, for example, could beat any senior, if he has worked harder and developed his game more.”

FROM top to bottom, in every sport, both col-legiate and professional, there are locker-room

guys who are there to help build chemistry. These players may not always be the ones putting up the most points night after night or making the

highlight reel plays, but they are the glue of the team — they keep everything together during the good times and in times of distress.

Thankfully for the Broncs, they have the character locker-room guy who also knows how to score and defend the basket.

Jon Thompson of the men’s basketball team is made of so much glue, you might as well call him Elmer’s.

One of two seniors on the team this year, Thompson leads the Broncs in scoring, averaging 12.8 ppg. Over the past 10 games, the Broncs have gone 7-3, dropping games to Manhattan, Iona and Fairfield while picking up two wins over Marist and first-place Niagara, and one

against St. Peter’s, Charleston Southern and Canisius.

As he helped the Broncs achieve the second seed in the MAAC championship, Thompson’s numbers spoke for themselves, as he averaged 17.3 ppg:

Manhattan – 18 pointsFairfield – 10 pointsMarist – 23 pointsNiagara – 18 pointsIona – 26 points St. Peter’s – 14 pointsMarist – 13 pointsCharleston S. – 15 pointsNiagara – 25 pointsCanisius – 11 points

Where Thompson really shines is on the defensive side of the game. Against talented

Niagara guard Juan’ya Green, one of the top contenders for the MAAC Player of the Year award, Thompson held him to shooting 1-16 from the field, finishing the first meeting between the two teams with a lowly two points. Green is averaging 17 ppg this season.

During the second meet-ing between Niagara and the Broncs, Green shot 9-19 and scored 27 points. How did Thompson respond? He shot 8-13 and knocked down 25 points of his own, virtually wiping away the work of the talented guard. The rest of the Broncs outscored Niagara and Rider won 68-59.

As the Broncs sit with the number two seed in the MAAC championship, they

will take on the winner of the Fairfield vs. St. Peter’s matchup. The Broncs won both contests against St. Peter’s this season, 66-54 and 72-57. However, Rider lost both games against the Stags, 52-65 and 59-69.

Rider is looking to get back to the MAAC champion-ship finale for the first time since 2008 when they lost to Siena, 53-74. The Broncs have yet to win the whole thing. If Thompson continues his dominant streak, there might be some new hardware in the Broncs’ future.


By Steven Eggert

AFTER sweeping Radford last week and beating Lafayette, the Broncs travel to South Carolina for a three-game series versus the nationally ranked South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Broncs (6-1) are currently in the midst of a five-game winning streak after a 5-3 win over Lafayette (0-7) in the home opener on March 5. Down 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Broncs scored four runs to take a 5-3 lead capped off by a two-run single by senior outfielder Ian Lindsay that ultimately won the game. The single also marked Lindsay’s 100th career hit at Rider.

Midweek games can not only add to the win column, but they can be revealing, according to Head Coach Barry Davis.

“Midweek games are different than weekend games,” Davis said. “It sometimes is a reflection of how good your team is or isn’t. Good teams that have depth win midweek games because you go fourth, fifth in your pitching rotation, and if the pitchers are very good, then the teams are very good.”

The offense has improved because the Broncs have developed a different mental approach at the plate this year compared to last year. The message to the batters has been to challenge the opposing pitchers.

“A new philosophy our coach has been preaching

is seeing more pitches,” junior outfielder/pitcher Jerry Mulderig said. “We were all a little skeptical of it because last year a lot of us liked swinging at the first pitch. It’s worked out well and that’s when you’ve got to trust your coach because he knows what he’s talking about.”

On the mound, the Bronc pitchers have a com-bined 3.05 ERA so far this season with opponents batting .234 against them. There is a lot of optimism among the pitching staff.

“We’ve been doing well because we worked hard in the offseason to get better,” sophomore pitcher Kurt Sowa said. “We’re trying to throw fast, throw strikes, get hitters out as quick as possible and keep the pitch count down. The way things are running, we’re just having fun playing baseball.”

This weekend, Rider takes on the sixth-ranked team in the nation, South Carolina (10-2). Though

they may not be the favorites in this matchup, recent wins have given the Broncs hope that they can steal the game.

“We know we’re extreme underdogs in that series, but everybody wants to squeak one out somehow,” Mulderig said. “This past weekend against Radford was a big confidence booster for us, and I think that’s a really good thing going down there so that we don’t play intimidated by them.”

The Gamecocks are two-time College World Series champions, winning in 2010 and 2011. Their home field, Carolina Stadium, is one of the premier college baseball venues in the nation, capable of seating more than 8,200 fans.

Davis wants his players to enjoy the experience of playing in one of the most prestigious venues in col-lege baseball.

“They’re going to have 7,000 to 8,000 people there under the lights in pretty good conditions,” Davis said. “We just have to embrace that we’re there playing on a high-level field, with a college crowd and this is what a lot of the schools down there play in. We have a chance to experience it for the weekend and hopefully it will pay dividends down the road.”

Sports

‘‘ We know we’re extreme underdogs in that series, but everybody

wants to squeak one out somehow.”Junior pitcher Jerry Mulderig

Column

Playing the hot hand, Thompson vital in MAAC playoffs

DAVID PAVLAKDavid Pavlak is a senior jour-nalism major and the sports editor of The Rider News.

Tennis

Rider looks for change of luck against St. Francis

Baseball

Broncs face top-ranked Gamecocks


Sports

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Women’s Basketball

Broncs bring composure to semifinalsBy Steve Sica

THE Broncs head into this year’s MAAC championship as the fourth seed and are set to take on fifth-seeded

Niagara tonight in an effort to bring a conference title home.

Although the season’s end is coming fast, the Broncs (15-14, 10-8 MAAC) see this weekend as a fresh start. Still, they hope to con-tinue to build off of prior success.

“We worked very hard all season to get the seed we have,” Head Coach Lynn Milligan said. “Starting play in the quarterfinals is new territory to us, but it will help us out a lot.”

Other highly ranked teams that could pose possible threats to Rider include second-seeded Iona (18-11, 13-5 MAAC), third-seeded Fairfield (17-12, 11-7 MAAC) and the MAAC women’s powerhouse, first-seeded Marist (18-0 MAAC), which has won the tournament every year since 2006. The Broncs were beat by Iona and Marist dur-ing the regular season, but swept Fairfield both times the two teams met. This week though, all the focus is on Niagara.

While this game is more impor-tant than a regular conference

game, Milligan and her players are trying not to overthink it.

“We are conducting our busi-ness as usual,” Milligan said. “We’re going to do the same thing we do every week in practice and just treat this as a normal week, knowing that’s it’s bigger than that.”

Niagara beat the Broncs twice during the regular season but the Broncs were missing key players in two close losses, according to graduate forward Carleigh Brown.

“Both times we played Niagara, we didn’t have our entire team,” she said. “The first game [junior forward] MyNeshia McKenzie was out for most of the game and the second time [senior forward] Caitlin Bopp didn’t play at all.”

With the team at full strength and a trip to the semi-finals on the line, the Broncs hope to give the Purple Eagles more of a fight than last time.

“This time we will have everyone and when our entire team plays together, we are extremely talented,” Brown said. “We are also playing for a lot more in this game.”

With the stakes high in this win-or-go-home-style tournament,

Milligan is looking to get an edge over the opponent early.

“We obviously have to play very well,” Milligan said. “We need to establish our inside presence, rebound well and contain a couple of their players and that will enable us to get our transition offense going.”

This upcoming game has the potential to be the last game for the seniors on the team, and many of them want this year’s tournament to be one to remember.

“I am playing for my last time in the MAAC tournament so this means a lot to me and all the seniors,” Brown said. “This year we are playing for the chance to meet a goal we set out at the beginning of the year and that was to make it to the MAAC championship.”

Milligan emphasized the importance of this weekend for the Broncs and complimented the team on its efforts and hard work so far.

“I couldn’t even put into words what this means to them,” Milligan said. “They’ve done amazing things these past four years; they’re excited and ready.”

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Senior center Caitlin Bopp was the second player in Rider history to accumulate more than 900 points and 900 rebounds as a Bronc.


Inside today: Wom-en’s basketball looks for MAAC champi-onship Page 15

Men’s Basketball

Broncs looking for NCAA berth through victory in MAAC championship

Sports

By Steven Eggert

AFTER winning their last five games of the sea-son to earn second place in the standings, the Broncs and their recent momentum travel to Massachusetts this weekend with the goal of

winning their first MAAC championship.Last season, Loyola (MD) defeated Fairfield 48-44

in their first title since 1994, while St. Peter’s shocked the MAAC by upsetting the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to take home the conference title.

The Broncs (18-13, 12-6 MAAC) have ended as a top-three seed in the tournament for the fourth time in the last six seasons, but are the only MAAC team never to win a title since joining the conference in 1997.

In their only MAAC championship appearances in 2005 against Niagara and 2008 against Siena, they lost each game by more than 20 points.

Throughout the week, social media sites have trended the word “MAACachusetts” to promote the excitement for the upcoming conference tournament. Devoted Rider students have bought tickets to secure a seat on the bus trip to Massachusetts hoping to see their team advance to the big dance.

Head Coach Kevin Baggett is highly motivated to make Rider proud.

“I really want it for the administration, the fans, the alums,” Baggett said. “We want to go out and win and get to the NCAA tournament so people can be proud and feel good about being a part of Rider. When you’re a coach here, you understand they haven’t been there. It is a prideful place and you got passionate fans.”

According to teamrankings.com, the odds favor Iona with a 28.03% chance to win the MAAC. Loyola (MD), Niagara, Canisius and Fairfield each gathered between 10% and 17% of the votes while Rider ranked seventh with an 8.67% chance.

The Broncs have been disproving odds makers all year long. They were also projected by the MAAC in the preseason to finish seventh out of the 10 teams.

Despite these odds, junior guard Anthony Myles has been happy with the team’s performance all sea-son long.

“I had a lot of confidence in this team,” Myles said. “I already knew what kind of person Baggett was — . someone who knew what he was doing and I would be surrounded by a bunch of guys that were winners.”

Rider’s regular season was a roller coaster ride. With a new head coach, graduating key scorers from last season and implementing new philosophy, the team started the year 6-9 through the first 15 games.

Once the Broncs started playing more conference opponents, the Broncs finished the remainder of the season 12-4 and rode a season-ending five-game win streak from fifth to second place in the MAAC.

Even though they’ve ended the season on a hot streak, the focus is solely on the upcoming tournament.

“We have to forget about these wins because our record is 0-0 now and those games now really mean nothing,” Myles said. “We might be playing Fairfield, who we lost to twice. So I’m glad we won those games, but we have to move on and focus on our next oppo-nent and do what we have to do in the tournament.”

One of the biggest improvements for Rider was in

defense. After being 311th in the nation last season, giving up 74.6 ppg, only 63.8 ppg were allowed this season, earning the Broncs a ranking of 108th in the NCAA.

“If we put together three good days of defense, then we should be alright,” senior guard Jon Thompson said. “When playing back-to-back games, you can have bad offensive nights. So having good defense will definitely help us.”

This week, the All-MAAC teams were also announced. Thompson was named to the second team while Myles and junior forward Danny Stewart were named to the third team.

Though these three players have made a significant impact on the Broncs’ success, the team is filled with many guys who can impact the game.

“I think in this team, you can’t concentrate on one guy,” Baggett said. “In the Canisius game, Zedric Sadler hit big shots, Nurideen Lindsey played well, the night before it was Thompson and Stewart and the Charleston Southern game, Khalil Alford. Shawn Valentine, Sadler, Thompson and Dera Nd-Ezuma performed well defensively, Junior Fortunat too, so it’s being more of a team.”

With a regular season filled with ups and downs, Baggett is satisfied with the team’s progress.

“We did exactly what I hoped we would do — defend, rebound and play as a team,” Baggett said. “We’ll take second place. I’d rather have first, but for all we’ve gone through and where we’re at, I couldn’t be prouder of this team.”

Junior guard Anthony Myles has appeared in 31 games and has compiled 378 points for the Broncs so far this weekend. His efforts continue heading into this weekend’s MAAC championship.

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